


Trigger happy devastation

by FernShaw



Category: Cookie Run (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Gunshot Wounds, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Secret Relationship, You can hear the author shouting acab in the background
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29664591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FernShaw/pseuds/FernShaw
Summary: Roguefort just wanted to steal something without many thoughts in mind ... They didn't actually think that this would end their career
Relationships: Roguefort Cookie & Walnut Cookie (Cookie Run), Roguefort Cookie/Sparkling Cookie (Cookie Run)
Comments: 48
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

Roguefort had this museum in their mind for quite a while now. They usually didn't like to steal works of art and tried to focus more on jewels. After all ... Art should be accessible for all. Gold and diamonds were a necessity for no one in this world. This museum was known to only expose the most precious and expensive jewels of the cookie kingdom. They heard the workers of the cheese mines complain about their discoveries being pretty much stolen by their boss right after they found them and sold to rich cookies to be exposed here. It put them in a rage that they couldn't even begin to describe. So they decided to get their little vengeance for them. They would steal whatever their could find, sell everything and give the money back to the workers and keep only what they needed for themselves. After a life without too much money and surviving with stealing, they decided to make it an art of its own. To bring justice to the ones that couldn't get it themselves. They were quite proud of their actions and loved to see how much they improved other people's lifes. And for them, it was the biggest thing they acheived in this life of a criminal. 

Everything was ready for that night, except one small thing that stopped them from directly getting into the museum. The day before they decided to act, they heard quite a few people saying that another criminal wanted to steal from the exact same museum ... On the exact same day, that was ! How dare they. 

Roguefort had to sympathy for other criminals. Most if them were rotten, only stealing for their own good and becoming the next generation of rich idiots that use others to get even richer. They despised this kind of people more than anything else. 

So, Roguefort decided to play their new game, one they found quite entertaining. They would wait for the criminal to steal whatever they planned to, see they get out of the museum and attack them afterwards. Stealing the stealers ... What a fun thing to do ! How exciting ! They rarely had this much adrenaline in their body. It was certainly not the first time they tried such thing but it was always an incredible experience. 

So they waited outside. It the middle of the night, like a cat waiting for a mouse to come out of their hole, they patiently stared at all possible exits and ... Nothing. The weird thing was, they were sure that they heard them getting in in the first place. Roguefort was clearly confused by everything that was going on, but finally understood that there could be a problem when the police showed up. That idiot had been caught somehow. Roguefort sighed and jumped to the museum's roof to get in before things escalated. They wanted their jewels and if the other thief was caught, it was their fault for not being cautious. No regrets. 

They quickly got into the second floor and looked around for anything that would be going on. It was shattered glass that quickly lead them towards a small room filled with greenish stones that they found them, groaning for some reason or another. They were probably cut by the glass ... What a beginner. 

The cookie turned around and gasped as they saw Roguefort taking their sword out of their cane and smirking. 

"Alright. Now you're going to be a nice little cookie and give me everything you took from here. C'mon ! It's just a few shiny stones, I'm sure you'll find more here."

"You ! I knew you would come here ! You heard rumors about me and decided to follow me, you rat !"

"Yes ... And no. I planned to get here long before you but ... I guess we can now say it's two birds with one stone~"

The other cookie grasped something in their back and growled

"I don't think you're in a position where you can negociate."

"Oh ~ ? Now, now, what makes you think that ?"

The man smirked as he held a poor small struggling body in his hand. 

"Walnut !"

The poor kid was in a state of shock, unable to talk. She looked around desperately trying to find a solution to escape, but didn't have the courage to move. 

"She's useful to you, isn't she ? She always ends up in your cases. I'm sure she's giving you informations. Or else you would've get rid of her earlier."

"No ! She's just a detective. That's why she's always following me. Nothing more, nothing less. Now let go of her or else I'll be compelled to stop you with force."

"A detective huh ..? So now you're defending the police. How pathetic. I thought you were better than that."

"Walnut is a child. And detectives are not part of the police. This is my last warning, let go of her."

The man grasped the kid even more, making her yelp in surprise, and went to reach something in his pocket. A gun. He slowly turned it against the poor little detective's cheek and smiled. 

"And what are you going to do, mmh ? I knew you were here to steal from me, Roguefort. Rumors spread quickly. It's your new little game, getting rid of the thiefs that are against your standards. And I am certainly not going to let you get away with it. So if you care about this little piece of shit, it will be my pleasure to remove her from existence."

"You bastard !"

"Oh, you may want to calm down. Because if you don't, not only her death will be more painful, but you'll be my next target. So you're going to shut up, and watch nicely what happens when you sympathize with cops."

Walnut was unable to move, terrified and not sure of what she could do. It was horrible to see her being so scared and helpless. Roguefort simply couldn't handle to see that view anymore. They didn't think twice before jumping on the criminal and blocking them against the ground, grabbing and throwing walnut out of the way as far as they could. This wasn't a very soft landing for the kid, but she could at least try to run thanks to that. She tried her best to get out of the room and go hide somewhere, much to her favorite thief's delight. 

"YOU'RE GONNA REGRET THIS !"

"No, you're the one that's going to regret touching that child."

Roguefort finally got their hands of the gun, pulled it from the other's grasp and held it as far as possible from the man's hands. 

Sadly, they couldn't have expected him to have more than one gun. 

And when Walnut heard a loud bang as she was explaining the situation to the police, she certainly didn't imagine that it could get worse.


	2. Chapter 2

Walnut hugged her teddy bear with a whimper, watching from afar the blue and red lights all over the place. In all of the cases she solved, she's never been that terrified. She still doesn't know what happened and now, she's not even sure she wants to know. 

It's been about ten minutes since she heard the gunshots. The police asked her to get in one of the cars and wait for them to come back, but ... This shouldn't be taking so much time, unless something bad happened. And she knew exactly what kind of bad things could happen with guns. 

She was scared for so many reasons. Maybe Roguefort shot the other cookie ? It seemed ... Surreal. They would never hurt a fly. Yes they were a bad cookie that kept stealing things but also, they were always so nice to others ... It couldn't be possible. But if Roguefort wasn't the one who shot, then that must mean that the shit was directed towards them. Gosh, and of course still not a single cookie back down to tell her what happened ! She was the leader of this operation, they should at least inform her of the things around ! Yes, she was just a kid but ... She cared about Roguefort. And she couldn't handle not being able to do anything right now. 

Her mind wanders helplessly back to this morning. She heard from several people rumours about Roguefort attacking the museum this night and she thought that this might be her chance. She felt so proud of herself, so glad about how good of a detective she was ... She couldn't have predicted that they wouldn't be the only detective this night. No one could. And ... That was her mistake. Her fault. No matter what happened with the gun earlier, it would be her fault. What if she accidentally killed Roguefort ? What if ended up loosing a limb just because they wanted to protect her ? 

She still has this vivid memory of their face when they saw her. She was so scared, so lost ... She didn't know what to do. They looked so angry, like they were about to actually get violent for the first time in their life. They did not hesitate a single second to jump in between her and the gun. So why did she run ?! She could've helped them. Well, she was trying to help them by asking to police officers to come back up but ... They didn't listen. All they did was grin and stop the intervention, hoping that the two thiefs end up hurting each other badly enough so that they wouldn't have to do much and would just snatch them both at the end of the fight. Walnut tried her best to convince them but it was already too late : the shot was heard and she was put on the side. 

Walnut shivered as she heard another vehicle coming by. She stuck her head against the window and quickly notice that this one was not like this others. It was an ambulance. She felt her heart squeeze in her chest as she understood that she was right. Something bad did happen. And it was all her fault. 

Two cookies entered the building with a stretcher and got out barely a minute afterwards. Walnut immediately recognised the body that they transported. She bursted out of the car and rushed towards the medical staff before being stopped by one of the police officers. 

"Let me go !! That's Roguefort !! Roguefort got shot, I need to see them !"

"Sorry kid, we ain't letting you near that rotten criminal. We caught the other one too, so don't worry, we got everything under control."

"B-but they got shot by my fault ! I have to say something to them, anything ! I can't just let them go like that !"

"They got shot thanks to you ? Woaw, I knew you were a good detective but that's even better than I thought ... I'll make sure to tell that to your boss, don't worry."

"No ! I meant that-"

"Listen, they're taking them to the hospital because they passed out. I know you're eager to interrogate them but it's simply not possible to do that right now. The mission is finished and is a complete success, thanks to you. I'm just gonna need you to wait a few more minutes in the car, someone's gonna take you back to your home."

Walnut was simply voiceless. She didn't know what to do nor what to say. After standing there for a few more seconds, staring at the ambulance that was slowly getting out of her vision, she hugged her teddy bear a bit closer and whimpered before walking back towards the car. 

As soon as she slammed the door she immediately started to cry. She was so lost ... None of this was supposed to happen. What could she do ?! It was all her fault ... What if that was the last time she even saw Roguefort ? What if they died because of her ?! She was a bad detective. She was supposed to help people, not make situations worse ! they didn't deserve that. They were stupid, a womaniser, a stealer a liar but ... They were so nice to others. They saved her so many times even if she kept chasing them. That wasn't fair ... She felt so lost ...

... So lost


	3. Chapter 3

Working with cops was always something so weird for Walnut. They worked in a very different manner than her usual collegues. They were less like a family sharing things together but rather like a pride of lions, with everyone having very specific tasks and shared this similar powerful and proud yet rather quiet state. They were quite welcoming, weirdly enough. Whenever Walnut came over, they always offered Walnut a cup of hot cocoa and had quite nice conversations together, usually asking her for what informations she gathered to be sure to have proper knowledge about the criminals they worked with. 

"As I said, Roguefort is not violent so we can't use that against them."

"But are you SURE about it ? They did so many crimes, it's impossible that they can be-"

"I am sure and I will not go back on that at all. They're quite charming and someone rather nice to be around, which is why Cheesecake never tried to get them caught by the police nor ever reported the incidents even if they made quite a lot of noises. They even saved my life more than once ... Really, they're a pacifist."

"Alright, alright... Is there anything else than that that you could mention about the incident ?"

"The other criminal had a gun that wasn't registered in the local area, which means there's probably some gun trafic around. You should look at that."

"I guess we'll see ... Anything else about the case ?"

"Well I don't think so ..? Either way they're probably going to be in jail for about 10 years for what I know. It looks like a harsh thing to do but ... That's what the justice thinks is best."

"It doesn't really matter how long do they get to stay in jail anyways. It's not like they're getting out of it."

Walnut sighed and took a sip of her hot cocoa.

"Yes it does matter. They're not THAT old, you know. They'll get out of jail ... Eventually. I just hope they'll be better afterwards."

The woman snickered, looking at her co-workers with an eye that sayed it all. "This little girl is stupid." She saw these eyes more than once in her life and she couldn't care less usually, but this time it was different. 

"Oh, kiddo ... You don't get it. We're going to make sure they'll spend the rest of their days in a cell. Just to, you know ... Make sure they won't make too much of a fuss. We'll find a way."

"Are you ... Planning to kill them ?!"

"Oh I certainly wouldn't say it like that."

"So you are planning to kill them."

"Well ... Yes and no. It'll be an accident."

Walnut slammed her mug on the table and yelled. 

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT PEOPLE ! HOW CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT WITHOUT EVEN QUESTIONING YOUR WORDS ?!"

"Woh, calm down kiddo ... We're not going to make a fuss about it, are we ? They're a troublemaker. They're never going to "get better". It's to protect people that we're doing that."

"To protect what ?! You really think that Roguefort would be the one to hurt someone ?! You just saw that there are guns in circulations in the city and your priority is to hurt someone that barely steals a few jewels ?! They're not even stealing them from anyone in need, they only target the richest cookies of the kingdom ! If you did your job you would know that already !!"

"You're the detective, you're the one who gathers everything we need to work. We don't need to learn all of that. We just do what we're told to do, and for now the guns aren't a priority."

"You're telling me that just because you were asked to capture a criminal that has NEVER HURT ANYONE you consider it more important than having guns around ? Can't you think by yourself ? Or are you just dumb ?"

All eyes were on her. She knew it and she simply did not care about it. Everyone was looking at that little girl like she was about to either uncover some dark secret that was hidden by some rotten individuals or like what they were doing was obviously the right thing to do and she shouldn't complain about it. Either way, Walnut was pissed. She was about to open her mouth again when one cookie stood up and walked towards her, their hand clenched over their weapon. 

"Listen kid. We are the adults here and you're not going to make us learn our jobs. We're doing the right thing, whether you like it out not. We'll take care of the guns once we'll be in position to, which means not right now. So you're going to stay in your place as a detective and provide us the clues we need to find culprits like always, and you'll stop interfering in our business right now or else I'm gonna have to force you to leave this room and be completely taken off that little pest's case. Is that clear ?"

Walnut was so close to yelling at every single person in this room that they were just a bunch of idiots, but she decided to remain silent. She had to think before she acted. She was definitely not going to let these people hurt Roguefort, not on her watch. But if she tried to make any moves against these people, she might be unable to do anything at all. The best thing to do was simply to act like she was okay with it and let them think she moved on. 

"... Alright. Understood. As long as you think it is the right thing to do, I'll trust you."

She was infuriated by her own words yet she tried her best to make it look like a genuine appology. Thank goodness spending so much time with Roguefort made her learn how to act convincingly. And every single cop in the room went back to their usual activities without thinking much about the situation except that a little girl was grumpy and probably needed a nap. 

But now, it was becoming obvious that she needed to do something.


	4. Chapter 4

Roguefort woke up blinded by the lights around them, feeling quite lost. They remembered what happened before they fainted. At least a part of it. They took a bullet in the stomach and ... And ?

They tried to get up but we're stopped very quickly by something that they were not expecting. They were blocked by something. They rubbed their eyes with the one hand they could move and discovered that they were handcuffed to their bed. That was ... Problematic. Handcuffs were never a good sign. They still couldn't remember what happened exactly but one thing was obvious : no matter what happened, they got caught. 

"You should think before you act sometimes, Roguefort."

They turned around to face someone they clearly weren't expecting but that was familiar nonetheless. 

"Sparkling."

"The one and only."

"What are you doing here ?"

"I could ask the same question."

"Well ... I'm not exactly sure. I took a bullet. And got caught. Not exactly ... Fun times. But you ? You probably shouldn't be here."

"But I am. You thought I was going to learn that you put your life in danger bad not be scared got you ? What a joke."

Sparkling looked pissed. Roguefort never saw him like that before. He was quite ... Imposing. They couldn't say a single word, too scared that they might make the situation worse somehow. But sparkling clearly didn't want the conversation to stop there. 

"... You're an idiot."

"I know."

"You should've seen this coming."

"I know."

"You should really start to think before you act sometimes."

"Says the man who goes to talk to a criminal just like that. The police is going to suspect you too, you know."

"I told them that I needed to take a good look at you just in case you tried to impersonate someone again."

"And they believed that ?"

"Apparently."

Roguefort sighed and looked at their hand. These handcuffs sure were uncomfortable. It stopped them from doing anything they wanted. But ...

"You know Sparkling, you told me that I'm an idiot, but I was ready to face the consequences of my action. I'm proud of myself nonetheless. I would've hated myself if I didn't help her."

"I don't think I completely get it. You spent years trying to fight her and now you want to help her ? I know you appreciate her. But she's still your enemy."

"I don't just ... Appreciate her. She reminds me of myself when I was younger. I wish I had someone who could stand to my level when it came to solving mysteries. With her, I feel like a kid again. I don't know how to describe it. I want good things for her, I don't want her to grow up to become me. She deserved a chance."

"Stop acting like you're some kind of rotten individual that is despicable, Roguefort ! You know it's not true. You're kind and think the best of others. That's why you saved her."

"... Maybe. But it doesn't change the fact that I am a thief."

"You didn't choose to become one ! You had to survive somehow !"

"But I took a liking to it. I didn't just steal things, it became a part of me. I like the idea of being this mysterious being that steals from the rotten rich while staying this perfect gentleman that would never hurt a fly."

"You ..."

"Don't deny it. You know it's a part of me that people will never be able to dissociate from my identity at this point. They will think of me as a bad individual no matter what happens."

Sparkling couldn't handle to look at them anymore. He was just bitting his lip looking at the ground, trying his best to hold back his tears

"I'm scared of loosing you, Roguefort."

"...I know."

"I won't blame you for your choice, I promise. It's just ... So hard to accept that I'll never be able to stay with you anymore. We went through so much and it's for me to see that it just ... Stops. Like that. I always thought you were the kind of thief like in the stories that never get caught. I knew these were childish illusions but still... I want to spend nights watching stupid crime tv shows with you while we both laugh at how stupid people are for not discovering your identity. I want to kiss you in secret in cheesecake's gardens before you steal one of her precious jewelleries. I want to see you happy after distributing the money you've gained to the poor because you don't want to keep it for yourself. I don't want to imagine you trapped in an empty cell for the rest of your life. You should be free ... You can't live trapped like that."

Roguefort tried their best to smile, but it didn't fool anyone, not even themselves. They gently wrapped their arm around Sparkling's body, cursing the handcuffs once again. The blonde man started sobbing as he took them closer to his heart. 

"I wish this moment could last forever."

"Me too, dear. But that's a little cliché."

"I don't care."

"... I'm sorry Sparkling. I'm so sorry ... I wish I could've spared you from this pain."

"... I forgive you. I love you."

Walnut removed her ear that she put against the door and felt a few tears drop off her cheeks as she backed up.   
Maybe a bullet in the stomach would've hurt less than that


	5. Chapter 5

A few hours went by after Walnut heard the conversation Roguefort had with Sparkling. It was unexpected, yes, but also quite the opportunity ... She felt guilty to think that she wanted to liberate the criminal so bad after she swore that she would get them caught one day. But she would feel even more guilty if she didn't do anything. And the thing is... She had so much more than one reason to want to liberate them. But she always stuck to what the law said what she was or wasn't supposed to do. Everything had to be perfect. Well not anymore. For the first time in her life Walnut had the courage to think that grown-ups could be wrong and she would not just stand and watch. 

She took the bus towards Sparkling's bar and entered the place hoping that he would be around and able to talk to her. Thankfully it wasn't too late and he barely had any clients, just a drunk vampire snoring on one of the tables. She approached him and he immediately looked at her with his usual cheerful smile. 

"Hello there Walnut ! It's quite rare to see you around ! Can I get you something ?"

"Actually, I need to speak to you in private. The police told me you had things to say to me."

"O-Oh ! Right ... Umh ... Come this way, we won't have anyone to listen in the staff room."

Walnut walked in a could clearly see that Sparkling kept his smile on, despite how stressed he was. He was pretty good at hiding his feelings, and she knew it. He closed the door and turned around. 

"So, what do you need to ask me ?"

"I know about your relationship with Roguefort."

Sparkling took a step back against the wall and his face instantly dissolved into a feeling of intense fear. 

"Okay, please don't panick. This is not an interrogation or something to your words or anything like that."

"... huh ?"

"I swear on my honour it's the truth. I know it seems hard to believe and you're probably panicking even when I say that but you have to trust me. I'm your only chance to save Roguefort." 

"..."

"Please, you have to believe me ! I know we didn't start on the best bases and I suspected you back when there was the cheesecake manor and I shouldn't have- ... Well you did do it in the end so I was kind of roght. But that's not my point. My point is I need you on my side right now."

Sparkling smirked and sat down to be at the little girl's height. 

"Give me one reason to trust you and I'm all ears. Right now I can't decide what should I believe."

She thought a little bit. There was one big reason why but telling Sparkling that people were planning on killing them was probably a really bad idea. It would only make him tense and the situation may take a turn she wouldn't be able to expect. But there was another thing that was quite obvious to say 

"They saved my life. More than once. Before, it was just things that looked more like a reflex than anything else. Grabbing my hand before I fall off a building, stopping me from walking into a trap the police made to catch them ... But with time I slowly understood that these acts were made with the specific intent of saving me. And just a few days ago they put their life in danger knowing full well that if they managed to survive they would be caught, and arrested a criminal that was known for violent acts at the same time. They could've just ran away and even steal something on the run and nothing would've happened to them, yet they decided to do something that they thought was right and saved my life. I believe that ... They might have the soul of a hero. I don't know why they took this path but maybe this wasn't truly their destiny. And even if I'm wrong and they're just someone who happened to like me and decided to protect me ... I would've tried to believe in them."

Sparkling was voiceless. He could just stare at the detective, barely stopping the tears that were slowly feeling his eyes. He wished that Roguefort could've heard that. That kid mattered so much to them, and to think that they actually believe in their action was one of the best thing they could hear. Walnut was obviously telling the truth and was easy to see how invested in her words she was. 

"... I wasn't expecting for a full essay. But I'll take it."

"Ah ! I'm sor-"

"It's good. I think that I trust you enough on this. So you want external help for a plan to get them out, am I right ? At least it looks like it."

"Yes. I kind of wish they won't cause any troubles afterwards but they're quite unpredictable so I don't think I could ask for something like that. Instead, I'm just going to hope that they'll be alright."

"The question is, how are we going to get me into this plan ? Or maybe you're just planning to get external help without me meeting Roguefort again ?"

"No, you're definitely getting in. The police thinks I'm a poor lost little girl who just happens to be a detective because I tried to play that role lately. If I tell them that I need an adult to help me interrogate them, especially an adult who met them several times, I'm sure they won't think much about it."

"... You're much more intelligent than what I thought. I hope I never do anything that gets you mad."

"Don't underestimate me, mister cliché forbidden romance"

The two cookies chuckled and high fived. The plan had begun.


	6. Chapter 6

"Be careful with them Walnut. They might be a "pacifist" but they're still a criminal. They will try to manipulate you and make you think they're the victim. They always do that."

"I know, officer, I know ... I worked in their cases for two years now ..."

"I just want to warn you. People like that tend to use people that are in position of weakness to their advantage and being a child might make you look like someone they could use easily... Not that you are that foolish, obviously, but it never hurts to remind you about it."

"... Of course, officer. Thank you."

Walnut opened the door and slammed it behind her before looking up and seeing Roguefort smiling at her. 

"So apparently I'm here to manipulate you ? Well I sure am glad the police told you to be careful ~"

Walnut sighed and chuckled before waiting a few more seconds to be sure that the people behind the door would've walked away by now. 

"The day you'll try to manipulate me will be the day where dark Enchanteress will start advocating for Cookie's rights."

"Haha ! Well I'm good at lying but I think manipulating people isn't really fair. It only hurts them and I feel guilty about it."

Walnut sat on the bed and smiled. 

"I thought you were going to be a lot less welcoming. You know ? Since ... You'll soon be in prison ... Because of me ..."

"Until you somehow prove that you're the one that gave me a telepathic message to make me take that decision, I made it myself. My chest still hurts but I don't care. I'm just glad you're fine."

Walnut looked at the bandages on their chest and felt her heart ache. She tried not to cry and decided to hug the cookie next to her as hard as she could. Obviously, she tried to avoid the spot that had been hurt but she still was doing it more like a reflex than anything else. She couldn't control her body. She cared so much and needed to be reassured. 

"Walnut ... Maybe now's not the time for you to get emotional. You have work to do."

"I don't care."

"... Alright."

Roguefort decided to let it go and let her have this little moment of sweetness. She was intelligent and a true detective, yes. But she was also a child and sometimes she needed to act like it. They began to rub her hair gently as she started to stop sobbing. 

"Let it all out. You'll feel better afterwards."

And so, she did. She probably cried all of the tears she could in just a few minutes. All of the stress she accumulated in the last few days went all out in one go as she was watched by the only person she felt she could trust. She took a little bit of time to get back to a better state, but it was fine. She needed that time after all. 

"Are you feeling better ?"

"... Yes. Thank you."

"You're welcome, little detective. Do you think you can start the interrogation now or do you still need more time ?" 

Walnut wimped her last tear out of her face a took a deep breath. 

"Alright Roguefort. I'm going to be very clear with you. I am not here to interrogate you nor do anything against you, I am going to help you get out of this place."

Roguefort stared at her in disbelief, feeling like they just had a deep hallucination. 

"Excuse me, I might've misunderstood."

"You understood me well. I have several reasons to do so, but I must inform you that the most important of all is that the police is planning to ... Do something that isn't quit me ethic to you."

"Ha ! The police. The root of all problems, like always. I think I understand what you're trying to tell me. The thing is, we need a plan. And if they're planning to do something like that to me ... They're probably looking at every possible exit to be sure that I can't get out. They already handcuffed me to the bed."

"That's what I was thinking. But do you think you can change your appearance again like you did with gingerbright ? We'll both get out as Walnut and you'll be able to sneak up outside without being noticed ! We'll just have to get out of the room with a few minutes of interval and get in different directions !"

"That's actually pretty clever ... It could work ! But as for the handcuffs ..."

"I can learn how to lockpick."

"You ? Lockpick ?"

"I'm currently getting a criminal out in the wild and you think I care about having to add lockpicking to my list of infractions ?"

"I'm kind of glad you chose to be a detective. You could've been an excellent thief."

"And you could be an excellent detective as well if you didn't choose to become this."

"... It's not exactly that I chose to become this. Let's say at first it was because I needed it, but it became quite addictive and I couldn't help myself afterwards."

"I'm curious, but ... I think that's a story for another time."

"I guess you're right."

Walnut took out her notes and scribbled a few things on the paper. 

"Okay... We're good now.Officially, you refused to answer my questions, tried to lie about your real identity several times and laughed at my face."

"Whaaat ? You think the police will believe you ?"

"They asked me seven times in a row if you hurt me and when I said no and gave proof you saved my life they decided to ask me two more times."

"Sheesh ... That's why I never trust cops."

"... It isn't because you're a criminal ?"

"Well, yes, but they always have a tendency of either ignoring things that are important and try to make things look worse than they are to make it look like they did a good job by arresting someone when it reality they just did the bare minimum, ignored the real problems and are still treated as heroes."

"That's ... An awfully precise description."

"Am I not right thought ?"

"For what I saw lately ... I can't deny it."

The kid jumped off the bed and got out of the room, waving goodbye at her rival. The next days might become ... Interesting.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to have to give a trigger warning for this chapter and the next one because it handles something that might be difficult to read. To avoid spoilers, I will not get into further explanations here but there will be more in the end notes

The plan was going marvelously well. It was taking a few days to be written in details, but it looked like it could work. Walnut had been planning a second visit for Roguefort in two days, and she had everything she needed ready in her bag. All that she could do now is wait. It was quite difficult to simply stay patient when there was so much to think about, but she was doing her best not to show anything about it. 

That morning, she walked towards the hospital was a confident smile and a heart filled with hopes. She had a second pair of clothes in her bag, even bringing little things go help Roguefort to get even more convincing in their costumes, like a magnifying glass and a plush. She often kept plushies with her, it was a little thing for her to get less scared by things that happen around her. After all, being a detective was a dangerous job, and even if she was careful, there were always bad things that could happen ! 

The hospital was always very impressive to her. It was this big place that she rarely visited, and she was often scared that she might end up being lost in the buildings. Still, she arrived a little early and needed to kill time. Yes, Roguefort would probably be ready at the moment, but you never know what could happen ! Perhaps the cops had tried to talk to them more ..? If she arrived at the wrong time it might ruin everything. Either way, she knew the cops wouldn't get any more infos from them. They were stubborn and loved to play around, even in dangerous situations. 

After spending a little bit of time admiring fishes in the giant aquarium of the hall, she decided that it was the time to act now. She got into the elevator, wandered through the corridors, arrived near Roguefort's door and saw ... People. A small group of cookies was gathered around their door, talking about something. She approached them, feeling her heart beating faster. 

"E-excuse me ? What's going on ?"

"We're taking them for the trial, of course !"

" WHAT ?! B-but wasn't the trial supposed to be for Monday ?!"

"It was, but we moved it yesterday after learning more informations that we need to discuss quickly with the judges before they can't be accessed anymore. We sent you a letter yesterday, didn't you receive it ?"

"No, I didn't ..."

"Then why are you here ?"

"I was... Trying to get more informations from them. You know, since the first time I failed to get anything out of their mouth ..."

"Oh, Walnut, you're such a dedicated little girl ... Sadly I not sure you'll have time to talk with them here, but maybe you can do that in the car ?"

Walnut bit her lip nervously. That was bad, extremly bad. She looked up to meet Sparkling's eyes. He seemed extremly tense too. What could she do now ? Even if they broke out of the car, they would be caught way too quickly. Transportations like these were rarely done by only one car when it came to the police. They were trapped ... For good. 

"Is it really reasonable to do that when they're still so fragile ?! They're still not completely okay after the wound they suffered, I could see that when I tried to talk to them. Getting them out of the room might reopen the wound and kill them !" 

"We talked about this with the professionals, it's good."

The head of the operation finished scribbling on a paper and grabbed the doorknob

"Alright. Everyone, get ready. They might try to negotiate, but we're not here for that."

Everyone nodded and entered the room. Walnut took a few steps in, glupped and saw ... Nobody. There was not a single person in the room, the sheets were nicely folded and put next to the mattress. 

"What- did we enter the wrong room ?"

"Certainly not, miss. This is the right place"

"I told them to watch the door ! These idiots... They might be hiding. I'm going to check the room."

The officer opened the dresser and the bathroom violently, but nothing was to be found inside. She sighed but suddenly saw the curtains slowly moving. She froze and mumbled something to herself. 

"... Oh no, they did not ..."

The officer ran towards the window to see that it was indeed open. Walnut shivered as she stayed in the bedroom, confused. She had no idea what this could mean but seeing the officer's reaction it was no good news. The lady opened the window, looked down and immediately covered her mouth before backing down in horror. She was livid, unable to process what she just saw. It took her an entire minute of silence to gather her words

"Call a professional to clean everything that's down. Take photos for proofs. And ... Please hide it from the kid's eyes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're here, it's probably because you need to check these notes to proceed ! The trigger is for implied suicide. Do not worry, I'm not that big of a meanie, nothing like that happened ;p


	8. Chapter 8

Walnut stared at the people around her that kept mumbling things, and began to fear something. She didn't know what happened, but it was obviously very bad. And why was the window open ? Why was-

... No

She understood

The little girl gasped and backed down, slowly realising what happened. If the window was open it means that no one closed it. If Roguefort isn't here it means that they got out. 

She covered her ears and let out a scream that froze everyone in the room before rushing into the room's bathroom and slamming the door behind her. Sparkling shivered and quickly followed her, telling everyone that they would handle it. He closed the door behind him and tried to approach the little girl who was crying all of the tears if her body 

"GET OUT !! GET OUT!! I DON'T WANT ANYONE HERE !!"

"Walnut, listen-"

"I CAN'T, I CAN'T !! LEAVE ME ALONE !!"

"Walnut, please, I need you talk calm down !"

"I can't just calm down !! They're - They're not coming back !!! It's all my fault, I should've known ... I was stupid, I ... They're really not coming back. They're not. They..."

"Walnut. Please. Listen to me."

The poor kid kept crying and didn't listen to a single word. She was just completely lost, unable to process the overwhelming emotions she was feeling. It was too much for her. It would be too much for anyone. The cookie sighed and suddenly decided that another strategy would be a good idea. 

"Only cats eat rubies."

Walnut suddenly stopped. These few words simply got her out of her state of pure panick and helped her get back to a more normal state in seconds. This was the codename for a secret operation that Walnut directed a few months prior. It was one of the most complex enigmas she ever has to deal with. It was to solve a puzzle in ancient ruins to help a tribe to find an ancient relic that was hidden. At that time, Roguefort just happened to stumble by and found her gathering clues. They decided to stick around, whiched annoyed her quite a lot at first, but they ended up finding things that she missed. With time passing by, the two of them slowly began to solve the puzzle together and found an ancient statue of a tiger made out of pure ruby. Walnut expected them to steal it, but they didn't. They simply admired the object for a while and left, letting the tribe finally honour the statue like they wanted. It was one of the cases she was the most proud of, but she never mentioned it to anyone simply to avoid people that might steal the statue. So the only people who knew about it were the tribe, her and ...

"RO-"

the other cookie put their hands on her mouth and quickly signed to stay quiet. Walnut removed the hands from her mouth and began whispering. 

"Roguefort ?! But how-"

"It's pretty complicated but sparkling learned about what they wanted to do last night and decided to help me get out earlier than what we planned. The thing they saw is just a mannequin that Sparkling filled with jelly and put my clothes on. That way no one would suspect a single thing."

"So it's you ..?"

"Yes."

"It's really really you ? You didn't ..?"

"I'm here, I promise it's me. Everything is fine, and we're getting out of here together in a few minutes alright ? You just need to calm down a bit. Take a deep breath, remember that it's me and only think about that. Everything you heard before wasn't true and everything is okay."

They held her little hand as she gasped for air between her sobs, feeling better and better with the minutes passing by. She couldn't believe how much she just went through in just in a day.

"If you could keep crying it would be perfect thought. The more sad you look the less suspicious they are."

Walnut started giggling, still wiping out her tears as she hugged the other cookie. 

"You're so mean ... You want me to keep crying..."

"Awh ... You can try to stop if you want, I'm sure I can get a lie out to explain why you're feeling better."

"Mmmmh..."

The cookie gently scooped up the little girl in their arms, knowing that after dealing with so many things she wouldn't have the energy to walk out. They opened the door and pretended to be exhausted. Exhaustion was one of the easiest things to fake, so it was merely a piece of cake for them. 

"Mister Sparkling ! Is she alright !"

"She is ... I managed to calm her down a little, but she cried so much I think she's about to faint right now. I'm sorry, I know you need her skills for you know ... The "thing". But I don't think she can handle it. She's young and ... She doesn't deserve to see such things. I know where she lives, would you mind if I brought her back to get some rest ?"

"Of course, please bring her back ! Poor thing ... At such a young age ... We thank you for your support mister Sparkling. We know you were needed in this trial but it looks like no one needs to be prepared for it on the end ... You can leave the rest to us from now on."

"Thank you mister, I appreciate your kindness."

Sparkling left the room and got in the escalator with a smirk. 

"Hey, little nut, are you truly asleep ?"

"No, no, don't worry ... I am very tired thought."

"I'm going to bring you to your home anyways to avoid any suspicions."

"It's better if you don't get into the building or the other detectives are going to ask you way too many questions about what happened with Roguefort ... Trust me once they know there was a witness they won't leave them alone."

"Hehe ... Alright, noted."

The duo took the bus and walked towards the ancient building where walnut worked. She stopped herself before opening the door and turned back to see her rival watching her with a kind smile. 

"So ... This is goodbye, huh ?"

"I guess."

"What are you going to do from now on ?"

"I'm not sure. But I'm certainly not going to continue stealing. I like jewels but I like my life a little more."

"So... I'm not going to see you anymore."

"Probably not. I'm going to get a new identity. You may not recognize me."

Walnut stayed silent for a while 

"I ... Didn't think hearing that would hurt that much."

"Well it looks pretty logical to me. You know, it hurts me too ... You were my rival, but also my friend. I was happy with you. I don't know what I'm going to do now but ... My biggest wish is to see you once again."

Walnut sighed and clenched her fist 

"... Can we stay here just a little longer ? I want to wait before saying goodbye ... Just a bit."

"Let us wait then."


	9. Chapter 9

Lately, Walnut's life has been ... Rather calm. It was nice, but also a weird feeling. She was so used to chasing Roguefort every week, solving incredible mysteries and playing around with them ... It was really strange to have to work back in her office and learn to go back to a calmer state. 

She wasn't unhappy, it was just different. The job was still as exciting and she got to talk with her collegues more. But, sometimes she thought about all of these adventures and the nostalgia would come back. This ... Would never happen again. All of the fabulous and weirdly complicated appearances of that cookie, they were just memories now. Roguefort had disappeared for good and ... That's it. 

For everyone, they were dead. For the month that has passed, every single media talked about it and added their own opinions on the situation. But for Walnut's biggest pleasure, most of them talked about them with respect. She thought that after a criminal that was so well known, everyone would think like the police officers and would be happy to have them gone. But the cookie world was truly grieving, sad for the loss of a truly magnificent person that often brought light in people's day. It was weird to think about it this way, but Roguefort often did more good in their actions than anything else. Every time they would appear, people's eyes would start shining and they would admire their way of acting more than fear them. People would talk about them at work, either laughing or admiring their last successful trick. They were kind of like a movie celebrity that made everyone happy in their own way. But now that people knew they would be able to take their newspapers to read what did the mysterious thief did during the last night, they were understanding that ... They actually missed them. 

Thankfully, Walnut knew the truth. She never mentioned it again after seeing her friend leaving her for one last time, but they were alive and well. They probably built a whole new identity and she would probably never see them again. That hurt ... But Walnut knew that they were ok and in the end, that was probably all that mattered.

The little kid slammed the file she just ended on her desk and smiled. These were almost too easy. Working against the most brilliant criminal for years made it look like all of the others were idiots. But that was certainly better for other people. 

She jumped off her seat and decided to get in the cafeteria to grab something for herself. She bought a huge cup of hot chocolate and walked towards the nearest table to sit down and savor it properly. She took a few sips and heard that her friends were talking. 

"I'm gonna take a glass at Sparkling's bar later tonight. I heard there's a new waiter here and they're quite the work of art, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah I saw them yesterday, they're pretty charming. They're a survivor from the golden cheese kingdom that escaped Dark Enchantress's grasp just a few weeks ago."

"There's still survivors that get out ?! Woaw ... I can't believe some people get to escape from it. Well at least they're in good hands, Sparkling is good guy."

A lady grabbed her latte and chuckled before sitting next to the duo. 

"Oh boys, you're wrong on the whole thing. Sparkling didn't just "took them in". He's been waiting for years for that cookie to escape from the cheese kingdom. They're his fiancé. Sorry, but you stand no chance."

"Tch ... And how do you know that ?"

"I asked them, idiot. If I come spend my money in drinks I at least want to get a conversation with a charming cookie. And since Sparkling was busy, I got them to talk with me a bit."

Walnut finally decided to get involved in the conversation. She was definitely too curious to let that slide without a word. Sparkling, having a fiancé just like that, a few weeks after Roguefort disappeared ? Implausible. That, and for them to be from the golden cheese kingdom ? This kingdom was known to be somewhere you can't get communications in. There's no way sparkling could've got a relationship with them if it was the truth. 

"And when does this new cookie work ? I'm curious if I can get informations from them about the cheese kingdom."

"Oh Walnut, you just stopped working against one of the most uncatchable thiefs and you're already getting into new impossible cases ? You're really something else ... They're working whenever the bar is open if I'm not wrong. But you might have to wait a little bit to get them at your table, they're extremely popular with the ladies."

"… I'll take note of that."

She smiled and got up to grab her cloak. Perhaps that she would see an old friend that night.


	10. Chapter 10

Walnut was walking impatiently in the streets of her town, humming a cheerful tune she heard in a cartoon earlier. If her deductions were right, this might be it. She would be able to see her friend once again. Just the thought of it was making her shake in happiness !! She would finally be able to see Roguefort again ! And if they were with Sparkling, then everything would truly be okay ... They were with the one they loved, had a job that would not require them to steal things, and most of all that bar was barely ten minutes away from her work ! She could see them whenever she wants !

... But what if that wasn't Roguefort ?

No, no, no. This HAD to be them. People from the golden cheese kingdom don't just   
... Escape. This place is a prison, and every single cookie there is used as a slave for dark Enchanteress ! Her grunts are too powerful and intelligent to just let someone escape. That was obviously impossible. 

... But what if that was the case ?

What if this person was truly just a survivor that sparkling happened to take under his wings ? Sparkling really was the type to help anyone in need. He had a heart of gold and would hesitate to help people who obviously wouldn't be able to survive on their own. Maybe they said the two of them were fiancés to be left alone ? After all, her collegues looked pretty interested in them. If everyone kept hitting on this poor person that just wanted to be left alone, telling people that they're already engaged would help them quite a lot. 

No ! She had to stop thinking about it. She would go to see this cookie in person and she'll see very quickly who they are. That's all. 

She arrived at the bar and sat at a random table, impatiently waiting for someone to come. She started looking around the place as she played with a random candy wrapper she had in her pocket. It really was a nice welcoming ambiance ... She wondered why she never came that often. Well, maybe that habit would change soon. 

After a little while, Sparkling came next to her with a big smile. 

"Detective Walnut ! It is a pleasure to see you around. Are you taking a break from your work ?"

"Yes ... I was actually wondering if I could talk with the person who came to work here recently ... They might have informations that I'm interested in, if you know what I mean."

Sparkling's grin said everything, yet he tried to hide whatever thoughts he had in the back of his head. 

"Oh I certainly understand what you are saying, little miss. I'm going to ask them to come here for a little ... Talk. Do you mind telling me what would you like for a drink ? I know life has been hard on you lately, so don't worry too much about the price. Take it as a little gift for your efforts to make this city a better place ~"

"Oh ! Oh ... I'll take a chocolate milk please."

"Very well."

Walnut gripped her sleeves impatiently as she waited for the drink. She was so happy, she didn't get to drink sugary things often. She hoped she would at least be able to relax a little bit before meeting the cookie she waited for. 

"Here you go little miss, chocolate milk."

"Thank you !"

The kid started taking large glups from the glass, and barely paid attention of things surrounding her. She wanted to savor it. 

"I wasn't expecting you to take chocolate milk. I know you like strawberry better."

Walnut almost chocked on her drink and coughed a little before getting her head back up and noticing that the one who brought the glass was definitely not Sparkling.

"YOU-"

"It is a pleasure to meet you ! I'm Roquefort cookie."

"... Really ? One letter changed ?"

"I'm not good when it comes to names."

She started giggling and hugged them. They looked so different ! Glasses, simple black and white outfit with a small béret ... She almost didn't recognize them ! 

"It's you ! It's really really you ! Aaaah I'm so happy !" 

"I'm really to see you too. When I got this job I hoped you'd be able to get the clues I gathered for you fast enough. You were a bit slower than I expected..."

"Sorry, the only time I heard about it was today. But I immediately knew I had to check ! Honestly, the whole fiancé thing was believable, but the golden cheese kingdom ? Really ? Did you really think people would believe that ?"

"... You know Walnut, sometimes you have to understand that some lies come from deformed truths."

"... What do you mean ?"

"Technically, I didn't lie when I said I escaped the golden cheese kingdom. I only changed the date of when it happened."

"Wait ... You mean you're really from there ?! The golden cheese kingdom. Th-the most secured prison there is. The land of "if you go there say goodbye to all of your friends because you're never coming back". You're joking right ?"

"I wouldn't say secured ... It's more like most people don't try to get out because they know the repercussions if they get caught doing so. And trust me, it's enough to stop most of us ... I was just lucky, I guess. But no one wanted to give me work in this city. So I had to become a thief to survive. As for what happened next, you probably already know about it."

"That's so incredible... Can you give me more details about that ?"

"My my, curious about everything, are we ?"

"Let's say ... If I could get to work on cases with you instead of against you ... I think it'll be a good experience."

"Well then. Grab a pencil and something to write on, and you got yourself a new partner."

"Got it !"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, we have an ending to this story ! A huge thank you to everyone who read this up until now. I'm currently trying to work one more multichaptered fic like this one and your support is really helpful for me !


End file.
